Tony Twain did not attend the post-match press conference, but it did not prevent the Italian reporters from mocking him in the media. Looking at their gloating faces, it was as if Nottingham Forest had been eliminated. However, these attacks had little effect on Twain, because he never cared about what the Italian media said every day, and he could not read Italian.
Even so, he was not in a good mood. After all, if there was a swarm of flies always buzzing in your ear, you would feel bored, even if you never understood what the flies were buzzing about. In the second round, they were going to challenge AC Milan in an away game. Twain could already imagine the indiscriminate bombardment he would face from the Italian media when he set foot on Italian soil.
Some things could not be escaped. This time, he used physical discomfort as an excuse to avoid it. What about the next time in Italy?
There was only one way to prevent this tragedy from happening, and that was to beat AC Milan and throw the tragedy to the Italians.
They did not achieve the desired result in the Champions League, but fortunately, Nottingham Forest had a winning streak in the domestic league. On February 23rd, they beat Derby County 3: 0 at home. On March 1st, they beat Manchester City 1: 0 in an away game, completely beating Eriksson's team back to its original form.
Anyway, Manchester City's owner, the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin, was now mired in a domestic lawsuit and did not have the leisure to pay attention to his team's results.
※ ※ ※
It was under such circumstances that the Nottingham Forest Football Club welcomed a few guests from the far east.
The winners of "The Football Kid" talent show came to Nottingham Forest to officially begin their one-year training career.
There were two in the young group and one in the older group. The three of them were brought here by Allan Adams.
They were accompanied by several staff members from Hunan TV Station. They were going to do a few episodes of reporting on the daily life and training of the teenagers in the UK, which would be broadcast in China as a way for the talent show "The Football Kid" to continue to play its part.
Twain had no objection to this. Anyway, the three were trained in the youth team. If the media wanted to make trouble, they would do it in the youth team. It was really deserted there, and it was good to have more people. As long as they did not come to the first team and interfere with his work. His only dissatisfaction might be that Dunn would be dragged along for a few interviews.
"They'll arrive at Wilford at approximately 2: 45 in the afternoon. After that, you'll have to meet them and say a few words …" Dunn held a notebook in his hand and was reading it to Tang En one by one. This was Tang En's work schedule for the day.
Originally, there was no such thing, but today was a little special. The club was afraid that something would go wrong, so they specially arranged a timetable for him. Dunn was very familiar with this because it was basically how he lived his life in the past.
"What do you want to say?" Tang En shifted his gaze away from the computer screen and looked up at Dunn, who was sitting diagonally across from him on the sofa. He was playing Minesweeper to kill time while waiting. The latest Football Manager FM game was also installed on the computer. However, once he started playing the game, he would be immersed in it and would not be able to hear what the people outside were saying.
The training ground outside the window behind him was empty. There was not a single person. It was not yet time for afternoon training.
"Whatever," Dunn replied.
"It's not written on it?" Twain mocked. He hated this kind of schedule. It made him feel like a prisoner who had lost his freedom.
"No. You're free to do whatever you want. Even if you want to say bad things about the club or scare those kids to tears, it's fine. But … "Dunn looked at him and said," You'll have to bear the consequences. "
"I'm not that stupid …" Tang En muttered. "Just say something nice like 'Welcome to the glorious Nottingham Forest.' I'm still clear about that."
Dunn nodded and continued reading.
"The media from China will gather together to film this meeting, and then there will be a brief interview of about five minutes … with you," he added.
Tang En felt strange. "Aren't they interviewing you?"
"You're the person in charge here." Dunn said something that made Tang En feel very comfortable.
"Yeah."
"Basically, that's it." Dunn closed the notebook and handed it to Tang En. "Do you want to watch it again?"
Tang En took it and placed it directly on the table. "There's no need. We're just meeting a few winners of the talent show. It's not like we're meeting the Queen. There's no need to make it so formal."
Dunn smiled. "So, have you thought about what you'll say when you see them?"
"There's no need. I'll just say it casually. For example … the weather's not bad today, it's quite sunny …" Tang En spread his hands.
"Aren't you looking forward to seeing Chen Jian? He's very excited to see you — he's your fan. "
"Him …" Tang En leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't want him to have any unrealistic fantasies."
Just as the two of them were chatting, the beautiful Miss Barbara Lucy knocked on the door and walked in.
"Mr. Dunn." She first nodded to greet Dunn, who was sitting on the side. Dunn returned the greeting.
Then she looked at Tang En. "Mr. Tang, they're here."
Tang En listened carefully and vaguely heard some noise coming from the direction of the training base's gate. He frowned and asked, "Are there a lot of people?"
"Fifteen reporters from China, four local reporters from Nottingham, a BBC interview team, and three contestants." Barbara Lucy reported the number of people very accurately.
"Thank you, Miss Lucy." Tang En nodded in thanks. At the same time, he got up from his seat. "Let's go, Dunn."
※ ※ ※
When the three of them arrived at the gate of the Wilford training base, there were already a lot of people there. Other than some reporters, there were more ordinary fans who came here to watch the team's training and ask for autographs from the star players. They naturally came up to watch such a rare event.
"They haven't achieved anything yet and they've already become stars." Tang En shrugged, slightly dissatisfied.
Dunn laughed at the side and did not express any opinion.
Miss Barbara Lucy said from her own work point of view, "Isn't this what Mr. Adams wants to see? Do you want to go up? "she asked.
Tang En shook his head and did not move. "No, let's watch here. No one has discovered us yet."
So the three of them quietly observed from an inconspicuous corner.
Allan Adams was being interviewed by the BBC television station. The interviewer was a young female reporter. His baby face had a gentle smile and was very approachable. It was not because the person opposite him was a woman. This was his usual expression. The opponents who fought against him for the first time would look down on him because of his appearance and expression. In the end, they would find that they had suffered a great loss because of it.
Allan himself said that he liked to smile, not because it made him feel happy, but because he could narrow his eyes when he smiled and hide the shrewdness that did not match his baby face. It was too cunning.
Others were scrambling to show off their shrewdness and showed great anger at others looking down on them. But Allan Adams had already understood the realm of "great wisdom appears to be stupidity."
Tang En looked away from Allan. There was nothing to look at this person whose head was full of all kinds of currency symbols. He noticed the three Chinese teenagers standing next to Allan Adams. They stood side by side under the carving of the Nottingham Forest team logo outside the gate of the training base. They made a victory sign and let the excited reporters take pictures.
Seeing this scene, he grinned. They were not here for a vacation. Did they have to take a picture as a souvenir? Should they turn around and write "so-and-so was here"?
"Mr. Twain, are you ready?" Miss Barbara Lucy urged from the side.
Tang En nodded. "Alright, let's go up." He shook his head and walked out first.
The appearance of Tony Twain and assistant manager Dunn caused a small commotion at the scene — not from the media, but from the three young players. From their excited faces, it could be seen that they were very excited to be able to see the legendary madman manager.
Tang En's face showed the smile that Allan Adams liked to see the most. He warmly and amiably greeted the three children. "Hi, how are you? Guests from the far east. "He spoke in Mandarin.
Although everyone knew that Tang En could speak fluent Mandarin, it was still enough to make the three children happy for a while to hear him speak to them face to face.
Looking at the expressions on the children's faces, how could Tang En not know what they were happy about?
Do you think that with a manager who can speak Mandarin, it will be much more convenient to communicate and you will be able to take advantage of him? If you really think that, then you are gravely mistaken, boys! This is the UK, and the official language here does not include Chinese.
If there were not so many reporters, and it were only him and the three children, Tang En would definitely blurt out the above words. But now, if he really said it, Allan Adams, whose expression was originally "the sky has brightened," would definitely instantly "the sky has darkened."
He did not want to embarrass Allan in front of so many people.
Therefore, the amiable smile on his face did not diminish in the slightest. In fact, it became even thicker. The only difference was that he no longer spoke Mandarin, but in English, with Dunn at the side responsible for translating into Mandarin.
"I'm glad you're here, children. Dunn and I have been waiting for a long time. "Indeed, waiting to the point of playing Minesweeper on the office computer out of boredom. "I'm glad to be able to meet you." He opened his arms and made a welcoming gesture.
"China has no reason to entertain guests outside, so please come in." The group was let into the training base. The next step was to bring them to the training ground. Here, Tang En had to send a message to the three children and accept another interview, and his task would be completed. There were professionals in charge of bringing the children to visit the training facilities. There was no need for the First Team manager to come personally.
A group of people stood by the side of the grassy training ground.
In fact, if one really wanted to talk about their future, the younger two players in the younger age group were more worthy of everyone's attention. After all, they were still young, so there was still room for them to be trained, nurtured, and improved. Moreover, their selection was more professional, and there were no gimmicks to satisfy the television audience. But because the younger age group did not undergo any live television broadcasts, they were not as popular as the older age group. Therefore, the third place in the older age group, Chen Jian, was still the focus of the media's attention.
Now, he stood in front of Tang En, looking a little nervously at the manager who was rumored to have a terrible temper.
"Don't be nervous. I won't do anything to you." Tang En could see the teenager's mood at the moment, and he smiled. Yes, you're still not my soldier, so naturally, I won't do anything to you. If you want to be fierce to me, you have to see if you have the qualifications.
Without waiting for Dunn's translation, Chen Jian nodded, clearly understanding.
Tang En was a little interested in this.
"You can understand what I'm saying?"
"A little, just a little," Chen Jian replied in English, which was still not very proficient and had a strong China accent. For Chen Jian, it was good enough that he could understand a little. As he came from a traditional China English education, his reading and writing skills were strong, but his listening and speaking skills were weak. Coupled with Tang En's English, which had a rural Nottingham accent, Chen Jian's English tuition during the general training camp played a little role.
Tang En remembered that this person was a university student, and he nodded in realization. He glanced at the reporters who were filming at the side. What are they expecting? Do they want to hear me say some pretty words to satisfy the audience?
Ah, I'm sorry. I'm only going to talk about something more practical …
"Okay, listen up, lad. I won't say those pretty words. You didn't come all the way to England to hear some nonsense lies, did you? "
Chen Jian nodded. "No … sir."
"Very well, then let's talk about something practical. You'll be here … No, there. "He pointed to the north." You'll be undergoing a year's training. It's not a commercial training. It's the real youth team training of England's football clubs. There are millions of kids in England who are going through the exact same training as you. If you can pass these training and tests, that means you have the ability to play professional football. If you can't, then … "Tang En clapped his hands. Dunn's translation was" break up. "
This time, Chen Jian nodded firmly. He had come for the dream of having a chance to play professional football. So, if the training was just for show, he might as well not come. Since he had come, he had to receive the most formal training.
"I hope you're mentally prepared because the training will be very tough. It's not too late to back out now."
Chen Jian shook his head. "I can't give up, sir."
"That's good. Once you choose to join, you're not allowed to give up unless you're eliminated by us. You only have one way to go, persevere. Do you understand, Chen Jian? "Tang En said seriously with a straight face.
"I understand, sir." His expression and words also made Chen Jian serious, and he replied with the same sincerity.
Dunn felt a little strange when he translated the words. Why did Tang En repeatedly emphasize that the training was tough? As far as he knew, the youth team's training was not as tough as the First Team's. Was he trying to scare people?
"Alright, good luck." You really do need some good luck. Tang En finished the sentence in his heart. After that, he no longer paid attention to Chen Jian and turned to chat with the other two kids. This time, the expression on his face was a lot more relaxed.
After completing his task, Tang En was pulled by the reporters for an interview. Everyone's concern was the same: whether these China youngsters really had a chance to become an official member of the Forest team after a year. That was because one of the publicity stunts of The Football Kid was that if the young players performed extremely well during the one-year training period, they had a chance to become an official member.
Tang En started shaking his head even before he finished listening to the question, pouring a bucket of cold water over everyone. "If it's so easy to become a professional player, then all the clubs in the United Kingdom should give up their youth training plans and change to a talent show with the media. I just hope that they can learn something in this year and feel something at the same time. These things should be helpful to their future path in life. Maybe … "Seeing the disappointment on these people's faces, Tang En thought for a moment and added," I mean maybe, after a year of training here, they can become professional players in other parts of the world. I know that China also has a professional league. But here … "
He shook his head again.
"Alright, thank you for your attention. But I have to go back and prepare for the team's training in the afternoon. I'm sorry." He waved at the reporters and refused to answer any more questions. He squeezed out and left everything to Dunn.
Was there anyone more suitable than Dunn, the China assistant manager, to be a tour guide for a group of "curious babies" from China?
※ ※ ※
Accompanied by the media, Dunn took them on a tour of the Forest team's various training facilities. Then Miss Barbara Lucy came out to tell the reporters that the filming was over. Because the First Team's training was about to begin. Manager Tang En did not want so many reporters wandering around the training base while the team was training — Barbara Lucy changed the words to a way that would not upset the media. In any case, she just hoped that everyone would support and cooperate. That was the end of today's interview.
After the reporters reluctantly dispersed, they also took pictures of the First Team star players who drove to the training base to get ready to start training.
Dunn, on the other hand, took the three children to the youth team training base in the north. There was no longer the noisy and annoying media around them, nor was there Allan Adams and Barbara Lucy. It was just the four of them. There was not even an interpreter, because Dunn himself could be an interpreter.
Of course, when this group of lads passed through the training base and headed north, they inevitably bumped into some of the First Team players. They were all familiar names and faces. They were pleasantly surprised when they saw one. Only Chen Jian acted more mature because he was the oldest of the three.
"Wow! It's van Nistelrooy! "
"Ribéry! Ribéry! "
"Pepe! Amazing! "
Fortunately, they did not see Beckham, otherwise they would have rushed up to ask for his autograph.
Chen Jian did not speak and did not look around. He just lowered his head and followed Dunn to the youth training base.
When they walked out of the First Team training base, the two children were still enthusiastically discussing the star players they had just seen. Chen Jian looked up and asked Dunn, who was walking in front of him.
"Dunn … Manager."
"What's the matter, Chen Jian?" Dunn just turned back and did not stop walking.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Well, does Manager Tang En … not like me?"
Dunn was taken aback by the question and then reacted. Clearly, the kid was frightened by Twain's serious attitude when he put on a straight face. He remembered Tang En's previous opinion of the talent show and his stubborn character, so he just smiled and said, "No, he's just like that to everyone. He's a strict manager …"
"But I read some reports that he's good to his players …"
"Are you his player now?" Dunn asked.
This time it was Chen Jian's turn to be stunned.
He was a smart man and he figured it out. So the smile returned to his face. "I understand, Manager Dunn."
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